thesoulpurposedotorg

My Dad would probably tell me I was getting “high falutin’ ” by calling these observations of his life “Spiritual Practices.” These things were just the way he lived the Christian life. One of the delightful things he did was to call everyone in his church and additional friends and family on their birthday and he would sing Happy Birthday to them. Even when he was getting ready to go to the hospital to have knee surgery, he made those calls. The day before he died, at a time we weren’t quite sure of how aware he was, he sang his last Birthday song to his wife of nearly 64 years.
It wasn’t just his singing the song that touched so many people. There was something in the way he did it, and his commitment to each person that exuded joy. He sang in the choir and helped that group bond by his occasional silliness and antics with his best buddy Glen. He sang in the shower, and when he put the dishes in the dishwasher and when he mowed the lawn. I remember him leading the neighborhood men in singing “O Solo Mio” while they put a new roof on the house. You just couldn’t help but feel delighted by him at these times and to share in his joy of being alive.

A few years ago, I was driving my parents home from New York on a Sunday morning. Dad was missing being at church and singing in the choir. So we put on the radio and scanned for Christian stations that were playing music. We’d change the channel when the preaching began or when we were out of range. At one point we were delighted to hear the Hallelujah Chorus and together we sang our parts: Mom attempting to carry the soprano, Dad the bass and myself the alto. We were having a grand old time when suddenly the music stopped. We tried to get the station back on to no avail so just shut the thing off. A few minutes passed and suddenly we heard it again! It turned out to be my Dad’s cell phone. If you can’t laugh at yourself, there’s something wrong with you! Life lesson number one. Happy Birthday Dad.